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Father of five thanks terror attack for saving his life

"The terror attack I underwent saved my life." So said Daniel Cohen, a 31-year-old father of five daughters. A resident of Rishon LeTzion, Cohen was stabbed by a Palestinian Muslim terrorist last week in an attack; an 80-year-old woman was also hurt in that attack, as was another Israeli.

Cohen's story took a surprising turn for the better, however, when doctors operating on him detected a potentially life-threatening tumor in his colon – and removed it.

The Israeli news site NRG reports that Cohen said, "The Creator brought me this operation in order to save my life, and in addition, the attack itself was miraculous in that I was not hurt in any vital organs. I have received my life as a present from all directions."

A smiling Cohen, a kashrut inspector who is now resting in his parents' home, told the story on Radio Kol Chai: "I was in the central bus station waiting for a bus to take me to the next eatery that I was to check. Nothing seemed suspicious, but suddenly the terrorist attacked me and choked me. I felt my neck about to break. He took out a knife and tried to behead me, and then he tried for my throat. But I turned my head, and he got me in my jaw. He threw me to the floor and stabbed me along my left side, in the chest, shoulder, and stomach."

Cohen was not ready to give up, however: "I grabbed his leg and tried to stand. I punched him, but I couldn't get the knife away from him. Someone tried to throw a garbage can in our direction, and then the terrorist ran away… I was in a very bad state. I ran up to a bus and rapped on the door, and the driver quickly let me in. Some passengers tried to stop my bleeding but… I started to say Shma Yisrael."

A Magen David Adom (Red Jewish Star) ambulance and crew arrived and took him to the nearest hospital – Assaf HaRofeh in Be'er Yaakov. He underwent a four-hour operation, which not only succeeded, but enabled the doctors to find a tumor in his large intestine that he did not know about.

Cohen admitted that "lately I had felt some pains in that area, but I didn't have time to deal with it. The attack simply saved my life."

A resident of Bnei Brak, Cohen said that his wife originally took the new situation "pretty hard," but "especially now, simple faith carries the day. A person doesn't imagine to himself what could happen as a result of being stabbed."

The attack occurred last Monday when a 20-year-old terrorist from Hebron stabbed a woman on the main street in Rishon LeTzion, Herzl Ave., and then ran further down the street and stabbed Cohen. He then continued into a store, where he found himself trapped inside by an alert female passerby.